STUNNING 9th CENTURY ZAPOTEC LARGE SEATED FIGURAL URN MONTE ALBAN - RARE - PROVENANCE: SOTHEBYS NEW YORK Start Price USD 2,750.00 Current Price USD 2,750.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, August 20, 2008 End Time Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Location New York, New York See more about 'STUNNING 9th CENTURY ZAPOTEC LARGE SEATED FIGURAL URN' Description You are bidding on very rare, unique and Stunning ca. 9th Century Zapotec Style seated figural Urn (Monte Alban).       This is a large gorgeous image and I bought it a few years back at Sotheby's New York and it has been part of my collection since that time. (I will provide a copy of the invoce with detailed information to the lucky winner).   I do not know what kind of specific material it is made of but it looks like some type of cement material.   This is like an urn, with the seating figure in the front and a type of vase/urn on the back (please see all photos)   I do not understand anything about these items and only bought them for their beauty. I am describing it as it was described at the auction house.   I bought a few items from that fantastic sale and will be offering a couple of them on ebay. CONDITION: I will try my best to report the accurate condition of all images I am offering on ebay. This Statue has the typical surface dirt and scratches of old items. No Chips or cracks on this image. One Repair to the left arm (on the elbow part) - see photo   This is a fantastic collector's item.   PLEASE DO NOT BID IF YOU ARE NOT SURE ABOUT IT.   The carving details are gorgeous.   Please see pictures and feel free to ask me any questions about this item. I will be offering several fantastic antique images on ebay including wood, bronze and alabaster).   It measures:   16 1/2"Tall (41.9cm) 12 1/2"Wide (31.7cm) 7"Deep (17.8cm)   PLEASE READ THIS: I am an extremely honest person and have excellent reputation and feedback on ebay (feel free to check it). I will make everything possible to make any ebay transaction a smooth and positive experience. I will also try to describe the item as accurate as possible. Feel free to ask me any questions and for additional photos.   I only offer unique high quality items bought from very diverse sources, collections and estates.   I’ll be offering other important art images, paintings, photographs and antiques on ebay.   Bid with confidence.   Good Luck   __________________________________________________________________   The Zapotec civilization was an indigenous pre-Columbian civilization that flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca of southern Mesoamerica. Archaeological evidence shows their culture goes back at least 2500 years. They left archaeological evidence at the ancient city of Monte Albán in the form of buildings, ball courts, magnificent tombs and grave goods including finely worked gold jewelry. Monte Albán was the first major city in the western hemisphere and the center of a Zapotec state that dominated much of what we know of as the current state of Oaxaca. The name Zapotec is an exonym coming from Nahuatl tzapotēcah (singular tzapotēcatl), which means "inhabitants of the place of sapote". The Zapotec referred to themselves by some variant of the term Be'ena'a, which means "The People." The Zapotecs developed a calendar and a logosyllabic system of writing that used a separate glyph to represent each of the syllables of the language. This writing system is one of several candidates thought to have been the first writings system of Mesoamerica and the predecessor of the writing systems developed by the Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec civilizations. At the present time, there is some debate as to whether or not Olmec symbols, dated to 650 BC, are actually a form of writing preceding the oldest Zapotec writing dated to about 500 BC. In the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, there were Zapotec and Mixtec artisans who fashioned jewelry for the Aztec rulers (tlatoanis), including Moctezuma II. Relations with central Mexico go back much further however, as attested by the archaeological remains of a Zapotec neighborhood within Teotihuacan and a Teotihuacan style "guest house" in Monte Albán. Other important pre-Columbian Zapotec sites include Lambityeco, Dainzu, Mitla, Yagul, San José Mogote, El Palmillo and Zaachila. They were a sedentary culture and well-advanced in civilization, living in large villages and towns, in houses constructed with stone and mortar. They recorded the principal events in their history by means of hieroglyphics, and in warfare they made use of a cotton armour. The well-known ruins of Mitla have been attributed to them and were claimed to be the tombs of their grandmothers and grandfathers. Like most Mesoamerican religious systems, the Zapotec religion was polytheistic. Two principal deities include Cocijo, the rain god (similar to the Aztec god Tlaloc), and Coquihani, the god of light. It is believed that the Zapotec sometimes used human sacrifice in their rituals. The Zapotecs tell that their ancestors emerged from the earth, from caves, or that they turned from trees or jaguars into people, while the elite that governed them believed that they descended from supernatural beings that lived among the clouds, and that upon death they would return to such status. In fact, the name by which Zapotecs are known today resulted from this belief. In Central Valley Zapotec "The Cloud People' is "Be'ena' Za'a." The last battle between the Aztecs and the Zapotecs occurred between 1497 and 1502, under the Aztec ruler Ahuizotl. At the time of Spanish conquest of Mexico, when news arrived that the Aztecs were defeated by the Spaniards, King Cosijoeza ordered his people not to confront the Spaniards so they would avoid the same fate. They were defeated by the Spaniards only after several campaigns between 1522 and 1527. However, uprisings against colonial authorities occurred in 1550, 1560, and 1715. In 1850 there was another rebellion against the local government of Oaxaca, followed in 1866 by one against the Royal French Army, during the French invasion of Mexico. In recent times, there was an uprising against the local governor Manuel Zárate Aquino in the 1970s, supported by the Mexican Army. Starting in 2006, a non-violent grassroots social movement against the current governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, stemmed from the violent repression of a teacher's strike on June 16, 2006. Since then a statewide movement has grown, leading to the formation of APPO, the Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca, in which a large number of indigenous groups are involved. Place a Bid!